Switch to Banner! They have their flaws, but we've been with them for a long time and for the most part have been happy with their service. As happy as you can be with a bank, anyway.

I think the house around the corner from Allison has been rented. We stopped by to get the number again today and the sign is laying flat on the ground. We got the number anyway and M tried to call, but no answer. I did check out the outside of the house though. It's okay. It needs a loooot of work and the fence is a big concern, since it's unfinished, but it's definitely habitable and has a lot of promise. The basement {cellar? Not sure} door was hanging open and that definitely stopped me in my tracks ~ it reminded me of something out of a horror flick! Just something about the angle of the stairs, the way they sloped down into a dark and very dirty room of which only a small portion with lots of trash was visible and the way the door was hanging... it was super creepy. But really, it just needs to be cleaned and a bit of basic work done to the outside. I'm kind of nervous about calling because we had an appt. to see it several weeks ago and couldn't make it to the appt. and I honestly do not remember whether I called to cancel or just didn't show up. I usually am pretty good about cancelling instead of just blowing something off, but with as scatterbrained as I've been {and the very next day was the day I spent all day in the hospital, so obviously I was not feeling well that day} there is a huge possibility that I might not have called. Anyone wanna call for me?

Nate had his rehearsal for their play tonight. It was so cute to watch the kids up on stage practicing their parts. The play is on Jan. 15th ~ I need to find out how many people we can invite to watch the show. He was so nervous, but he did pretty well. Luckily I still have a month to find the pieces for his costume.

I PROMISE that after January 1st {um, provided we can find a place, be approved and move before the end of December} I will stop with the obsessive posting about house hunting. I really appreciate you all being so patient with me and so helpful. I'm exhausted and overwhelmed with all of this and I'm frustrated at how difficult it's proving to be, when it seems like it should be pretty simple.

I think I decided to bring candy cane fudge and... something else, but haven't yet decided what... to the cookie party. And spinach dip, of course. I'm going to try to find time tomorrow to test out a lemon bar recipe and if that turns out well I'll make some to bring to the party. If not we might go with ranger cookies or maybe some oatmeal cranberry.

I'm trying to stay positive about this and keep researching but I am a bit worried. There are quite a few threads, articles and such about this around the web and some have links to contact your senators and representatives about this.

Leslie that is so cute but not what I saw. I can't even remember what it was. I just remember thinking Madison.

So not in the greatest way but bank was taken care of. We got some of those dumb use your credit line as check in the mail today. Zero interest for a year and fee was only $15 to use it. It will def be paid off before a year and the $15 fee beats the $70 so we used it to deposit into our account. How sad is that. :

Jessie what kind of embroidery machine do you have?

Keep house talking its fine with me. You guys listen to me ramble on about stuff that I am sure you don't want to hear about all the time.

No, it's the SE 270 D. I love it and it was a nice low price. I bought mine on Overstock, but Costco.com often runs a great deal which offers the emb. machine and PED basic together for a really good price.

Allison...I think it's ALL banks right now. We have Columbia Credit Union(my brother and I)....
I was in the clear for things coming out, which would leave me with like $1..well because Blockbuster had done something to my account..which NEVER showed up on my CCU account...CCU charged me an overdraft fee even though I wasn't overdrawn. When I asked if they would waive the fee because technically I was NOT overdrawn..they said I already used my "free" waiver for this year.

THIS CRAP HAPPENS ALL THE TIME....it'll be their overdraft fees that overdraw me..it pisses me off.

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Look what I just bought, super cute isn't it Can't decide if it's a birthday present or something else...

Jessie no worries about the house talk, hope it all works out well for you guys!

And good luck to Erica, how is your house hunt going?

i think the neighbors where that house is think I am some crazy stalker. I drive by it every 3 days to see if it's still for rent. It is!!! I keep saying my prayers!! and keeping my fingers crossed.

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Are you able to pay a small pro-rated amount for the last couple days of December, just to hold the house? Call them back and reiterate to them that you're still interested! Maybe they'll have changed their minds about not holding the house for you, since it's just for the rest of this month, which is already 1/3 over. That's the one you put the application in on, right?

Are you able to pay a small pro-rated amount for the last couple days of December, just to hold the house? Call them back and reiterate to them that you're still interested! Maybe they'll have changed their minds about not holding the house for you, since it's just for the rest of this month, which is already 1/3 over. That's the one you put the application in on, right?

I haven't applied yet, I will tomorrow or this weekend I am thinking.
We can stay where we are, I reasked for a lower price rent (they were going to raise rent $50) and they said that they would keep my garage at $50 and only raise rent $11($836 instead of $825). So it's not like we HAVE to move. It's just...I hate my psycho neighbors, I hate having to pay for a garage, I hate being so cramped. Plus I hate my management.
This house, well duplex, that I want is so perfect with the huge yard. I worried because we wouldn't have the pool during the summer...but with that huge backyard..I could BUY a good size swimming pool, maybe a trampoline? maybe even a swingset. It would be SOOOOO perfect!
My lease for the place I am in now isn't up till Jan 19. So I would have to pay prorated rent for both places in Jan?
I'll call her today and let her know I am still interested and see if we could work something out

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This post is totally rambly and house-obsessive, so feel free to just ignore me! If you do have some advice to weigh in with I would love to hear it though.

The house was listed again this morning. Not the one we applied for, but the one we saw which M hated. It's out in Orchards. And I'm acutally considering calling to ask for another application. I mean, it's not perfect, but there were a lot of things about it I liked. The yard is awful, but with a tiller, some seed and a lot of love it can be fixed. There's no front fence and that's where all of the yard is, but the kids can be taught to stay out of the road or I can get a porch swing {the front porch is just begging for a porch swing} and sit out there with them. The tiny little fenced part in the back has a telephone pole in the center, but otherwise it's a perfect size for the girls to play ~ put a Little Tykes playhouse out there and they would be enthralled. There's no real place for bike riding, but we can figure something out for that. M's concerns still remain though. The 'floating' floor which was poorly installed, a few maintanence issues which he spotted and I missed. No garage and a very potholed mud drive. Drivers speeding on the otherwise pretty quiet road. I love the layout of the house, for the most part, but he really disliked the whole package.

This is the house. It doesn't show the front yard very well, but the front yard is pretty big... but very ratty and in need of a lot of work.

Besides the location {it's only about ten minutes from here, but nowhere near the bus so I can't take the kids to school on Friday unless I call a cab or suck it up and buy a second car as well as getting over my irrational fear of driving}, the yard and M's concerns about maintanence {which I do trust, as he used to build houses}, the house is great. I really liked the layout. There is a fully finished basement which is actually set up to be an apartment ~ it has a bedroom {perfect for an office/sewing room}, family room {perfect for a playroom/rec room}, a kitchenette {put in a mini fridge and a microwave for snacks} and a full bathroom. Upstairs has three bedrooms, full bathroom, laminate flooring and tons of cabinet space. Honestly, I liked this *house* way better than the one we applied for, but I liked the location and yard of the one we applied for much more.

Maybe I should sit down with M tonight and write a list of pros and cons about that house. I still don't know whether we'll be approved for the one we applied for on 20th St. and at this point I'm upset with the owner for being "concerned" about four kids in a 3 bedroom place [if she's concerned about 4, how is she going to react when the fifth is born?], so I'm yo-yoing in my feelings about the place. I love the layout of the other house and with some work it would be great... except the location. The neighborhood is fine, it's just so far from the kids' school.

OK. Enough obsessing for one morning. I'm going to go pack some more and clean some more. And take a shower, because ew. I'll probably be back to obsess more later.

Imagine how much of a nightmare I'm going to be in a few years when we start looking at houses to buy It's weird, actually. I mean, I've always been a bit obsessive but this is over the top even for me. M says I'm obsessing about this move because it takes my mind off of obsessing over my health {lost another four pounds, which puts me at 9% total weight loss} and the health of the Bun, and I think he's completely right.

Oh, Ericka! I'm so sorry that the house rented. I'll keep looking for you! I would offer the one that we applied for {if we're denied}, but it only has one bathroom and it's a tiny bathroom, too. Plus it's not on the bus line ~ it's nearish a bus line, but you have to walk about 12 blocks to get to the stop.

The one I linked above is nowhere near a bus stop, from what I can tell.

There's this one, but the price is a bit high and I don't know where it is in relation to the bus line.

Jessie we did not even tell out landlords when we had nomy. They found out when he came over to fix something and she was asleep in the swing. Why supply the information? I think you should take a deep breath. Breathe... Something will come up. The landlord is only doing/thinking what she needs to to protect her investment. It is not personal about you/your kids. I think a pro/con list is a great idea!

I forgot to take Maddy to school! I feel so bad. She has been talking about the egg experiment they are doing today all week and she may have missed it. I dropped her off 40 minutes late. We were having such a great non rushed lunch though and I could not figure out why.

Jessie we did not even tell out landlords when we had nomy. They found out when he came over to fix something and she was asleep in the swing. Why supply the information? I think you should take a deep breath. Breathe... Something will come up. The landlord is only doing/thinking what she needs to to protect her investment. It is not personal about you/your kids. I think a pro/con list is a great idea!

I'm just used to landlords who are around frequently. Here they're always around and at our last house we lived just a few houses down from them and saw them frequently, at least 3 times per week. They knew when I was pregnant with Ali and when she was born.

I just talked with Linda Glenn at Vivante. She doesn't think the insurance will cover Zofran and doubts it would help anyway since it supresses vomitting and I'm not doing much of that. She suggested Phenergan, which will make me very tired, but on the up side that will help with my insomnia issue. She also suggested accupuncture, so if I can get past the fear of needles that might be something to try.

I talked with M about the house out in Orchards. He still has his reservations, but agrees that the size definitely makes it attractive. We talked a lot on the phone while he was on his way home about the pros and cons of each house and basically we're completely torn. The pros and cons of each equal out. I want to take the house out in Orchards and put it where the house on 20th is The one in Orchards is the type of house we would buy and fix up. The layout is awesome and I can totally decorate the whole place in my mind. I love love love the playroom and sewing room downstairs idea ~ put all of my sewing stuff and the toys downstairs, our two biggest mess makers, and keep the main floor tidy. Buuuut the location and yard are big cons. The maintanence issue is M's biggest concern, but is also something which is pretty easy to fix, either by us or the owner. And it's really not *that* bad ~ I didn't see any of the issues at all until he pointed them out to me and explained why they were issues. The only reason he noticed them is because he was a carpenter. The price is higher, which stinks, but it comes with a fridge so that's one less thing to purchase. And the floors are laminate, which means no worries about a birthing tub mucking up carpet. Perfect location, yard and price VS. perfect layout, personable owner and excellent size.

So I called the guy about the house in Orchards to confirm the price and make sure it was still available. Yes on both and not only did he remember us, but he also seemed really excited to hear from me which was a vast, stark difference from the other owner. We're going to go tomorrow evening and fill out an application. The owner of the house on 20th St. has until 5pm tomorrow to call me and give an answer one way or another. If they have not called, we'll fill out the app. for the house in Orchards and let fate/God decide which we get.

Is it weird that I can mentally decorate both houses? If we get the one on 20th I want to convert the garage to a playroom. Put down some carpeting, put all of the toys out there, get a couple of easels and a low table or two. If it's the one in Orchards it has the perfect playroom in the basement. I would put the toys down there with the little tv and tv stand, put all of the video games there and get some bean bag chairs for the floor. The bedroom would hold a table for my sewing machines and the walls and closet would have shelves for fabric and notions. Maybe put the computer down there, too.

Maybe by the end of the weekend this whole drama will be over and we'll have a house secured, one or the other! And then you all won't have to listen to me obsess anymore

I'm trying to stay positive about this and keep researching but I am a bit worried. There are quite a few threads, articles and such about this around the web and some have links to contact your senators and representatives about this.

this scares the daylights out of me

2 kids. 1 more on the way. Cloth diapers, home birth, and boojuu is how I roll.

Yep but technically you do not have to do the testing as you are retail. You just need to have the certificate that your suppliers get when they get the testing. But then your suppliers are WAHMs who cannot afford the testing so it just sucks, sucks, sucks! I am doing so much right now to further my business and I wonder if I should stop because it may just be a waste of money if I have to close in three months. Sigh...

At my church downtown, they are taking in stuff for the WHO project which is warm coats and boots and stuff for the homeless.
they are taking them at the parish office. thats where I took all our stuff
hope that helps.

Allison- I dont think any of my wahms will be able to afford the testings, I would likely close as well. I am very scared for all small business in the kid industry.

2 kids. 1 more on the way. Cloth diapers, home birth, and boojuu is how I roll.

Still no call *scowl*. I am not a patient person. I guess it's good news that the house hasn't been relisted to rent though; she said they've had no other serious inquiries and they haven't relisted it, so at least they're not actively searching for other applicants while processing ours. I just wish she would hurry up and call, one way or the other.

Ana told me today that her class is putting on play and she's going to be a baby penguin. I think I need to talk to the teacher to get more information. Ana says she needs a baby penguin costume, but knows no other details. That would be utterly adorable, but eep! If I need to make a penguin costume right away I just might cry.

Jessie it took 2 weeks for us to get back our credit check for the rental. But they did mess it up so had to resend it.

Penguin Ana sounds cute!

Maddy has requested a birthday outfit. Umm her first choice was a dress made out of my loverly purple with butterflies brocade. I had to seriously convince her that the dress would be ruined with in a day. Snags, stains, oh my goodness. So she settled (and not to happily) on a long skirt in striped cord. Yay for me as that is so easy to whip up no sleeves, no buttons, just a long piece of fabric and some elastic. : I may actually complete it.

Oh wow, a brocade dress would be so beautiful but such a headache to take care of! The first time she brushed up against a corner it would snag and unravel. I love how pretty brocades are, but oooooh are they a hassle.